From Forest Paths to School Halls: A Journey of Change
From a Jungle Life with Elephants to School Books.
I’ve been home for over two months now. My last trip was to Dubai for a friend’s wedding, and for those who don’t know me or what I was doing before returning to my home in northern Italy, here’s a little glimpse.
For three years, I lived in a remote village in northern Thailand, working alongside the local Karen community and helping bring elephants back to the forest from tourist camps. It was an experience that changed my life, a dream come true. But, as many beautiful things do, it eventually came to an end.
Coming home, I felt lost and uncertain. I still do, in some ways, but I’m moving forward. I’m learning to adjust to the busy rhythm of Western life. Always running. Always rushing. And to be sincere, I find it quite hard. I was used to the peaceful flow of a remote village, moving with the seasons, waking with the sun. I felt at peace with what I was doing, without pressure from the outside world.
Back then, I lived in my tiny bubble and when I returned home, that bubble burst. The world rushed in, and I suddenly felt overwhelmed.
As a naturally quiet and introverted person, it hasn’t been easy to fall back in, to go out and meet new people again. I’m very comfortable on my own, which is both a gift and a challenge. Sometimes I just wish people would come and knock on my door, asking if I’d like to be friends. But life doesn’t really work that way, you have to go out and make the first move.
Don’t get me wrong, I love meeting people, and I’m always up for a good chat. It’s just that getting there takes effort. I’ve been spending a lot of time in nature, escaping into the mountains for long hikes, usually alone. But honestly, there’s something so freeing about it. The peace of walking through forests and mountains, the changing colours of the leaves, the stillness of early mornings when the air is crisp and the sun slowly rises. The birds singing nearby. Those are the moments I truly feel at peace, no pressure, just simply being.
Now that I’m back home, I also started grounding myself by doing yoga in the mornings. I love seeing how the light changes from dark to bright, taking that quiet time for myself before letting the world rush in. Just me, my breath, and the birds singing from the trees outside. These small rituals help me find the peace I once had in Thailand.
Of course, being home also means finding a job. So I started working as an English teacher in a primary school, definitely a big change from working with elephants to teaching kids in a classroom. It’s fulfilling but also draining. The kids are full of energy, and being my first experience, I’m still learning how everything works.
Sometimes I catch myself comparing my life here to my life in Thailand, and I know it only does harm, they’re completely different worlds. The people, the rhythm, the purpose. What I’m really craving is the peace of mind I had there, the simplicity.
In Thailand, I learned to live slowly, to listen to nature and let the days unfold gently. Back home, I’m learning a different kind of strength, to adapt, to be patient with myself, and to find moments of stillness even when the world moves faster than I’d like.
I guess this chapter is about rediscovering who I am outside of the jungle, outside of the work that once defined me. It’s about finding new meaning in small things, in a child’s laughter, in the sunrise through my window, in the courage to start again.
Life doesn’t always feel simple anymore, but maybe simplicity isn’t about where you are. Maybe it’s about how present you are with what’s in front of you.
Maybe that’s what I’m learning now, that peace isn’t something you only find in a place, but something you slowly learn to carry within. Life keeps changing, and so do we. I might not have the same simplicity I had in the jungle, but I’m finding new ways to create it, and maybe, that’s enough for now.
